2008年10月13日 星期一

The TownLu-Zhi has a long history more than, 2,000 years. It is a water town which mainly famous for its Luo-Han (羅漢)statutes and and old business streets. There are many bridges in the small town. Lu-Zhi and Ton-Li both are old water towns. But Ton-Li was a town lived by some big figure in Ming and Qing Dynasty, while Lu-Zhi is a market place with business streets. So Ton-Li is famous for its old and luxurious Gardens. And Lu-Zhi is known for its business streets and bridges.Our VisitIt was only 20 minutes driving from our house to Lu-Zhi. We walked around then took a hand-rowed boat to see the whole place. It was interesting to sit in the boat watching all visitors and old buildings on the ground. The trees and buildings on the sides of the water way kept us from sunshine,so we felt cool even the sun was very hot today. When we finished the town, it was only 12:00. Richy wanted to experience the feeling of eating in a 5-star hotel. So we stopped by a hotel called Kempinski. This hotel is next to a very high-class golf court which was run by the government. We tried their recently promoted meals ( Hong-Kong style snack) with up to 30 choices of Hong-Kong buns, appetizers, and deserts at the price of $68RMB each person. Oh, men. It was really a 5-star hotel, but not a 5-star restaurant. I thought they need more promotion in Chef's cooking skills.

Our cost for the meal was $68 RMB each and Winton's half price. This was a discounted promotion price but still expensive. The normal price for a buffet brunch (providing western and eastern food) in this restaurant was $256 RMB each , a price I would never try even in Taiwan. Seeing the price, you would know Su-Zhou is a conflicting city with many low-end workers working and living in construction sites while many rich people living a luxurious life. The sight of the low-end workers' life always reminded me to feel grateful for what I had. I also felt worried about the gap between the rich and the poor. It was like knowing the existence of a hidden volcano.

Sa-Hu (Sand Lake) Ecology ParkThere are so many ecology parks around Su-Zhou. We wanted to find a park called Bye-Tun Ecology Park but found another park on the way called Sa-Hu Eco Park. That meant at least 2 parks in 5 km span here. What a great nature resource here. Richy and Winston got off the car and walked through the park bridges to an small island. I was too tired to get out of the car so I did not take any picture of the park. What a pity! But I was sure to visit here again on the evenings. It was hard for me to walk in the park with a big hot sun watching me all the way. The economic was down, This was a good place to visit without having to pay entrance fee and most importantly it had no shopping centers to spend cash. Lakes, big gardens, grass lands, bridges, and some playgrounds. Every park was at least 10 times of the parks in our neighborhood in Taiwan. So whenever I arrived the park, I would stretch up and start inhale, exhale.. Wow it felt so free, and it was free.

Su-Zhou Science and Cultural Art Center The center has been opened for only one year. It provides a variety of functions such as grand theatre, performance hall, Cineplex, commercial centre, art exhibition halls, gardens etc. It has an open hall for vendors and stores to do business there. But there are still few stores moving in, and some of the stores already in sight seem too expensive for visitors to drop in. I bet the business here is not good.The gardens around the center is well designed and kept. Sitting right next to Gold Chicken lake, the center provides visitors a great place to relax in the cool breeze under shadows of trees and on the lakeside.

We stopped by the Art Center for about one hour and went home. It was weird that it was so spacious in the center with many different halls and all the functions it was supposed to provide seemed all there except one-- the exhibition function. There were so many kinds of art crafts and musical instruments in China. They should hold different art exhibitions and provide show houses for their artists in order to attract visitors and promote the traditional arts.

Anyway, I was glad that we found another place close to our house to relax.